Broadneck Golf Caps Stellar Season At State Championship

For Devin Gardner, Broadneck High School head golf coach, high expectations for 2024 were formed at the end of last season.

“The young players we had in 2023 showed a lot of potential, and with the hard work the team put in during the offseason, I knew this season was going to be something special,” he said.

The coach’s preseason intuition proved correct.

As members of his team exited the course at the University of Maryland from October 28–30 following the Class 4A/3A state championship, Broadneck players saw their school’s name on the final leaderboard, landing in fifth place in Maryland. Furthermore, junior Ben Coe earned second-place honors for the boys, and senior Summer Stroop earned 10th-place honors for the girls.

“I was shooting 69 on the second day of the state tournament and making a run at the state title. I was tied with the leader throughout the 15th hole, when I chipped in my 16th hole, (which) put me in the lead by one,” Coe said. “My opponent birdied his 17th hole to put us tied for the lead, but I bogeyed my last hole to lose by one. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just had the best finish by a Broadneck player ever in the state tournament.”

Stroop had qualified for the state championship for four straight seasons; however, she hadn’t been able to break 80 in the tournament during her first three attempts. This year, she broke through, shooting 79-76 over the two days.

“Being able to perform well in my last high school tournament was very rewarding,” said Stroop, who began playing golf with her father, a University of Georgia golf team standout, when she was just 7 years old. “It was truly a testament to all the work I have put in these past few years to get better.”

Coe and Stroop were named team captains at the beginning of the season, an honor Gardner said they earned and didn’t take lightly.

“Summer and Ben were leaders on the course and in the classroom,” Gardner said. “They showed the young players what it means to be a Broadneck Bruin; they took every opportunity to help the team improve and become better players. In the coaches’ eyes, we could not have asked any more of the two of them as captains.”

Broadneck’s team will graduate six seniors next June – a loss that could cripple a team without Broadneck’s depth. But Gardner said his young team is ready to get back on the course and shoot for the title.

“The future is very bright for Broadneck. Ben will return as a senior, and James Jonker and Michael Peterson, who both competed in the state championships, are returning,” Gardner added. “There are several golfers ready to take a starting spot next season and all the coaches cannot wait for the successes of the 2025 team.”